A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians

A Novel

By: H. G. Parry

Narrated by: Andrew Kingston

Length: 20 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

A sweeping tale of revolution and wonder in a world not quite like our own, A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians is a genre-defying story of magic, war, and the struggle for freedom in the early modern world.

It is the Age of Enlightenment - of new and magical political movements, from the necromancer Robespierre calling for revolution in France, to the weather mage Toussaint L'Ouverture leading the slaves of Haiti in their fight for freedom, to the bold new Prime Minister William Pitt weighing the legalization of magic among commoners in Britain and abolition throughout its colonies overseas.

But amid all of the upheaval of the early modern world, there is an unknown force inciting all of human civilization into violent conflict. And it will require the combined efforts of revolutionaries, magicians, and abolitionists to unmask this hidden enemy before the whole world falls to darkness and chaos.

For more from H. G. Parry, check out The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep.

©2020 H. G. Parry (P)2020 Redhook

Critic reviews

"Impeccably researched and epically written, this novel is a stellar start to what promises to be a grand new fantasy series." (Booklist, starred review)

"A rich, sprawling epic full of history and magic, Declaration is Jonathan Strange with international politics and vampires. I loved it." (Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January)

"Fans of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell will be enchanted by this sprawling epic of revolution and dark magic." (Locus)

Slow start, excellent progression

I almost gave up after a couple of hours in, but then it just grabbed me. A book longer than 15 hours is also a book I usually don’t gravitate to, but I thought I’d give this one a try. I’m so glad I did. It really is about magicians rights, and not so much the actual magic, so don’t be surprised when you don’t get a Harry Dresden type of character. This book excelled at getting into character psyche in a way I wasn’t even aware I would like. I found I loved it. It also is mostly dialogue, but done so well I am already getting the next book.

disappointing

I loved the politics and intrigue of this, and what a strong start the novel had. so much of it was right up my alley. but as the plot threads started to come together near the end of the book... won't spoil it exactly, but everything can be blamed on one big bad evil guy, and it's not the guy you think. and the BBEG doesn't have interesting motivation, there's one (1) traumatic event mentioned for him, but it's not motivating, exactly.

robespierre's story was great, though. a+. probably the best part of the novel? the fact that he won't be in the next one isn't the *only* reason I won't continue, or even the biggest one. and I don't fault this one for ending where it did, except that it's a cliffhanger for everyone else. but I'm not compelled by their stories the way I was by Robespierre's.

Surprisingly excellent

This book is highly recommended for anyone who enjoyed Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell or Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. It follows the same vein of recreating the events of that era but introducing magic to reinterpret causes and circumstances of events.

The story follows three sets of characters operating simultaneously in different geographies: on one hand we have Pitt the Younger and the abolitionist Wilberforce in England, fighting in Parliament against the human trade to the colonies and, more covertly, against a mysterious, sinister figure who seems to be controlling political events on the other side of the Channel; in France we follow Robespierre and Camille Desmoulins as they ignite the French Revolution to obtain rights for the oppressed magician population; and then there is Toussaint Louverture and the slaves of St. Domingue (Haiti) raising for their freedom against their French plantation masters.

The history behind the story is very well researched, which was an agreeable surprise; the characters really come alive and the pace of the story is excellent. There will have to be a second installment for sure, and I will await it impatiently. This one had me on the edge of my seat even though I knew the historical context and main events.

The narrator is fantastic and really manages to create distinctive voices and personalities for each character.

The thinnest veneer of fantasy

Full disclosure: only a couple months ago I listened to the Great Courses lectures on the French Revolution. The events that play out are still pretty fresh in my memory.

I will start with the positive. The author does an excellent job bringing these historic figures to life. Wilberforce and Pitt the Younger’s friendship and banter makes them endearing. The story does a good job of depicting Robespierre the man apart from the monster modern memory presents. I can’t comment with confidence on the depiction of the Haitian Revolution.

That said, part of the appeal of this book was the hope that perhaps the fantasy aspect of the book would play a larger role in perhaps altering the history. It strikes me as odd that even with magic curtailed by laws and treaties the world of this story is pretty much on the exact same page as our own world and events play out almost imperceptibly different.

The bottom line: If you wish to learn the history, then I think you will enjoy this book. If you already know the history and expected something more of the fantasy aspect, you may be disappointed.

Great Book!

I loved this book and I really loved the unique story. The different perspectives of the same story helped to get a wider picture of the world. I would love to read more books in this setting.

In the Same Vein as League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

An astounding novel that combines real people and events from history and mixes them with fantastic and logical magic.

history lesson

A history lesson that should have just stayed a history lesson. The plot and the magic system were brushed over in favor of matching historical events.

good as a retelling

i wish the true antagonist was less influential in the events. it's too easy to just have one bad dude be responsible for all the evil of the robespierre and pitt

A little slow but I thoroughly enjoyed.

Enjoyed the mixture of history and fantasy, little slow but kept me engaged. Great narration. Have already purchased Book Two.

A slow but compelling read

The historical research here is impressive. The pace seemed a bit slow, but I was compelled to keep listening.